India get hot Droid phone, second mobile HD voice carrier

When Aircel rolls out its 3G service across 13 cities in India, it will also carry one of the hottest phones on the planet. OliveTelecom will provide the OliveSmart V-S300, complete with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, with HD voice supported.

The V-S300 is described as the “first” Indian HSPA+ smart phone and has a 4.1” touchscreen, 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, Adreno 205 graphics engine, 5 MP camera, Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 2.1, and all the other goodies one expects out of an Android phone these days.

Aircel plans to roll out 3G service “before February 19” and the cricket World Cup. Depending on who’s counting, this is the second to fourth 3G (and HD voice) rollout in India. Tata DOCOMO was the first to launch 3G service on November 5, 2010. Reliance Communications (RCom) launched in four of its “circles” in mid-December 2010 and planned to add its other sectors throughout 2011, but there’s no mention of HD voice in its press releases. Bharti Airtel rolled out 3G services in late January but also failed to mention HD voice in its service announcements.

There’s no doubt that the Aircel offering will support HD voice; the president of Qualcomm India specifically points out that the OliveSmart has “crystal clear HDvoice.” All the Indian 3G/HSPA+ rollouts are capable of supporting support AMR-WB and HD Voice with the appropriate handsets and software switched on in the core.